The Director of Industrial Relations is charged with responsibility for labor management, national negotiations, mechanization, safety and health for all divisions of the union, and the administration of the collective bargaining agreement.

There’s more to being a progressive union than achieving and enforcing a contract — and that’s where the Human Relations Department comes in. Our programs and benefits inspire members to participate in the union and give them a sense of inclusion, contribution, and ownership.

The Maintenance Craft is a diverse and complex division of the APWU. In addition to the three national officers who work at the union's headquarters in Washington, DC, representation is provided by nine Maintenance National Business Agents (NBAs) and three all-craft NBAs.

The Motor Vehicle Craft is composed of APWU members who transport mail and maintain postal vehicles, and includes MVS Clerks, who work in Vehicle Maintenance Facilities and in Transportation Departments in mail processing plants.

The Support Services Division represents APWU bargaining unit members at Information Technology/ Accounting Service Centers, Operating Services facilities, Mail Equipment Shops and Material Distribution Centers, as well as professional nurses employed by the Postal Service. The Division also includes APWU-represented workers who are employed in the private sector, including mail haul drivers and Mail Transport Equipment Service Center employees.

The Northeast Regional Coordinator is responsible for union activity in parts of New York and New Jersey, and Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The Western Region Coordinator is responsible for the union's activities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and American Samoa, Guam and Saipan.

The Deaf/Hard of Hearing Task Force is a forum for APWU members to address their unique problems and concerns in the workplace, union, and society. Established in 1988 by an amendment to the APWU National Constitution, its goals include: better communication, better representation; better training, a better workplace, a better union, and building friendship.

APWU POWER (Post Office Women for Equal Rights) is the women’s committee within the American Postal Workers Union. It unites women, with their special concerns, yet works within the framework of the national APWU organization.

The APWU National Postal Press Association (PPA) provides APWU communicators with a wide range of assistance, information, and educational programs concerning the publication of union newsletters and media.

Latest News

Latest News

Negotiations Hotline

11/21/2006 - APWU President William Burrus has told union members that progress toward an agreement had been made, but that “important issues remain that have not been finalized.” The parties will continue discussions on Nov. 21. “The terms of the new contract are too important to rush agreement because of an artificial deadline,” he said.

11/20/2006 - The APWU won a major victory last week when Arbitrator Shyam Das sustained a grievance protesting USPS custodial staffing policies. “This landmark award will help the APWU protect the custodial workforce,” said Maintenance Division Director Steve Raymer.

The award, dated Nov. 16, requires postal management to rescind the Maintenance Staffing Handbook (MS-47) issued in 2001, which outlined new staffing procedures, and reinstate the 1983 version. It also requires the Postal Service to “reinstitute or prepare staffing packages as soon as practicable.” Arbitrator Das remanded discussion of a remedy for the intervening period to the parties, but retained jurisdiction if the parties are unable to agree on that portion of the remedy.

Negotiations Hotline

11/19/2006 - In a telephone message on the eve of the expiration of the contract, APWU President William Burrus told union members that although final agreement is beyond reach at this time, "I am convinced that agreement is possible." Negotiations are continuing, he said, with health benefits and wages dominating the discussions.

Negotiations Hotline

11/17/2006 - Although he characterized the pace of talks as “agonizingly slow,” APWU President William Burrus noted in a Nov. 17 telephone message that negotiations over a national agreement have almost always gone to the final hours. “I continue my commitment to a contract that is worthy of the contribution of APWU members,” he said, “and stand by the APWU commitment to ‘reach agreement if we can, but arbitrate if we must.’”

Negotiations Hotline Message

11/15/2006 - In a telephone message Nov. 15, APWU President William Burrus told union members that wages and health benefit premiums continue to dominate contract talks. “Overall,” he said, negotiations are “continuing at a pace that is not conducive to reaching an acceptable agreement on or before midnight, Nov. 20.” Burrus reported that some progress is being made on non-economic issues, however.

11/13/2006 - The overwhelming wave of victories by Democrats on Nov. 7 presents an opportunity for the U.S. Congress to do a better job of representing the interests of American workers and their families, said APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid.

“All too often for the last several years,” Reid said, “the Republican-controlled House and Senate opted to enhance corporate profits at the expense of the very people who performed the work that generated these profits.”

“From increasing the minimum wage to reversing policies that significantly reduced overtime pay for so-called supervisors, Democrats — the new majority party — have a mandate in the 110 th Congress to do better for American workers.”

Negotiations Hotline Message

11/13/2006 - APWU President William Burrus updated union members about the status of contract negotiations in a recorded telephone message Nov. 13, telling them little progress has been made on the union’s priorities. The union is fully prepared for any eventuality he said, either by negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement or proceeding to arbitration. The current agreement expires Nov. 20, 2006.

11/13/2006 - The APWU has established a Negotiations Hotline, which will help union members stay abreast of late-breaking developments regarding bargaining. The toll-free number is 800-992-APWU (or 800-992-2798).

Union President William Burrus recorded a message Nov. 13. Updates will be made as events warrant. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires Nov. 20.

11/09/2006 - Standing beneath a sign reading, “The People Won,” APWU President William Burrus saluted union members who worked to help elect “forward-thinking” candidates on Election Day 2006.

“This is a great day for democracy, a great day for the labor movement, and a great day for us,” Burrus said during an impromptu celebration at APWU headquarters on Wednesday. He noted that several members of the staff had worked the phones or otherwise campaigned for candidates who had expressed support for working families and he reported that APWU members in the field had worked just as hard.

Maine Elected Officials Honor Union Picket

11/09/2006 - Union members braved rain and cold to protest
management's staffing plan for the new mail
processing center in Scarborough, ME.

When the Postal Service announced a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 2 to celebrate the grand opening of an $82 million mail-processing center in Scarborough, ME, it expected that distinguished guests, such as Maine’s U.S. senators, would be pleased to be guests of honor. What USPS officials didn’t expect was an APWU protest — and that became much bigger news that the event itself.